How-To

What Clay I Use For Customizing And Some Other Supplies

Kristian BeverlyLeave a comment

What Clay I use For Customizing and Some Other Supplies

(Plus a mini history on me customizing)

When I first started customizing, I researched alot about how to go about doing so. The JAH I bought at one of my first model horse shows showed how to customize models using an exacto knife. It did work, even though my results did not show it. I have become a slightly more patient person since I was young, but making thousands of tiny itty bitty sized lines on a model and not seeing results quickly, yeah that didn’t work for my pre-teen self and barely for myself now.

Then when searching online, I found that one could use hot boiling water to move model legs. I did try it and thank goodness all I got was a burned finger. In reading, I have heard that models can explode from such things. Being most likely around 10-12 I did not think about such possibilities. Nope, nope, nope. If this website with an 1970 article about model horses could do it, so could I.

(No Pics Of Those Experiments. They’re Quite Scary)

Hallelujah I moved from the boiling stage and gained a heat gun. It’s an  embossing gun for scrapbooking that I bought at JoAnn’s fabrics. THIS WAS SUCH A GREAT INVESTMENT! Now customizing models is not the safest of hobbies, but the heat gun is one of the safer type of techniques that one can learn. Granted I did stupid things with it and still now do stupid things, but this is what I use!

Source

There are two ways to go about doing it. Only one is a good idea. First is the heat, cut, and move technique. You do not make gaping gorges into your model, but instead do it in the least amount of cuts. You heat up the model slightly and make cuts into it, and then move the body parts.
The other technique really does not work at all. You heat up said model until there are bubbles sprouting on the spot that you held the heat gun too long. You get your exacto knife to cut a slice out of your model, but instead it won’t cut. The model’s plastic has melted that much. Instead of picking up on the plastic being melted, you crack out the heat gun, and like some demented Greek god, you hold the heat gun close to the model until smoke begins to filter through the air.

“I Shall Burn Thee”–Source

You realize that if you don’t stop, your house will be on fire, and that will not make your parents happy. Not one bit. So that model horse is axed for the day.
When I first started customizing, I heard that people used a type of clay called apoxie. Then the mighty putty commercials started coming on TV. I thought that that  stuff was perfect. So one day at some local store, I saw packets upon packets of it for five dollars. I thought I had hit the motherload. Five Dollars? Better than paying 30!
The moral of the story is: if it sounds or seems too good to be true, it probably is. When using mighty putty, you only have a time slot of five minutes to work with it before it hardens. Five minutes isn’t long enough to do details, make muscles, or really do any sculpting. Still, I used that for a year or two (could have been more).

Poor thing never was finished, and I can’t say that it ever will…..

The next clay I moved to was Gapoxie sold by RioRondo. Now, this stuff was a huge improvement from Mighty Putty, but it still was missing something. It left a nasty residue on your fingers and it wasn’t soft, or as soft as I wanted my clay to be. I used that stuff until it was completely gone.
There was a middle period where I used Crayola’s Natural Colored Clay. I will have to find one of those horses, but if I do, the model is probably crumbled. The thing about Crayola clay is that it breaks down very quickly(less than a year) and the beautiful model you had made no longer is a model anymore.
Then Aves Apoxie was introduced to me. My friend showed it to me, and I haven’t looked back since. I love it. It is soft, sand able and well, it stays soft for hours during customization. People also use Magic Sculpt, but I’m so happy with Apoxie that I don’t feel a need to try Magic Sculpt, but never say never!

Little quirks and important things to Know About Performance

Kristian BeverlyLeave a comment

So here’s a little funny tips blurb I came up with. Just finished packing for Breyerfest since we’re leaving tomorrow, so hopefully everyone has a safe trip, and hope to see you there!
1) Western pleasure horse bridles do not have nose bands, so chop off those nose bands from Breyer Western Bridles
2) Arabian horses in arena costume do not trot
3) Sticky wax is a great gift as long as you don’t make your horse look like it has rabies
4) Zippo Pine Bar is jogging, not walking
5) Dolls with the hard plastic boots will look like beginners due to their limited amount of mobility to push those heels dowwwn.
6) Beware of packing your models in any type of packing material that sticks to them. It makes said model look like a weird bumpy mummy.
7) Always make sure you have extra tags at a show so if your model decides it wants to be rogue, you can rope it  back in.
8) Bring extra wrapping material just in case you come home with extras.
9) People have a habit of bringing awesomely cool models to shows, so make sure you can bring a camera so you can drool over pictures later.
10) Research, research, and research even more….

How To Give Your Pony A Furry Coat

Kristian Beverly3 Comments

This is a how-to on giving your model a fuzzy texture.

How To Give Your Pony A Furry Coat

For this how-to you’ll need a couple of things.

  • Modeling Paste 
  • Gesso
  • Sponge/ dabber tool
  • Paint Brushes (A hard brush, not a soft one)

First off you need a smooth model. It can have a mane.

Next, mix equal parts of the gesso and modeling paste.

This is a picture of the paint brush I used. It is a nice brush, so I didn’t have to worry about hairs getting in it.

Using the sponge, dab some of the mixture on the horse’s body.

(Sorry about the pic quality. Bad lighting)

Here comes the importance of having a picture of a horse’s hair growth pattern.
Shoestring Stable has a great one. Here
Following your reference, run your paint brush through the mixture in the same direction of your reference.
I recommend doing your model in phases so you don’t mess up on what you had already done.
Here’s the end result of what you get. (The other horse refused to have a good picture of him taken)

Now you have a fuzzy pony! This is a really easy technique that brings really cool results on your model horse.

Getting Ready For Breyerfest- How To Pack Your Models

Kristian Beverly2 Comments

How To Pack Your Models

FYI-For all of the years I’ve gone to Breyerfest, I’ve gone by car. So if you fly or take a train, this may or may not help you. I’ve never flown or taken a train to Breyerfest.

What to Stuff Those Models In?

There are mannnny ways to transport your model horses. This is just my way of doing it. During my first couple of years of showing I used a suit case.
It worked well for the couple of models I had. It’s ok. Not bad, not good. Just ok in the middle.

This is what I use now. A clear plastic container. The pros of it are that it’s easy to pack, you can stack stuff on top of it, it has a hard outside that will protect your models, and you can see through it. The con is that you have to carry it, but you can buy containers similar with wheels.

What to Pack Them With?

Over the years I have used anything from blankets to that white pillow fluff to pack models in. Blankets are not the best idea. For one, you lay your models in layers on top of each other. If the models are not packed in tight enough, they can shift around and scratch each other.
 The white pillow fluff? It’s one of the worst packing materials for models. It does not give them any padding, and it leaves a white fluffy dust all over the models.

It was something close to this. It was more ‘loose’. 

Bubble wrap is one of the best materials. I use this now.It gives padding and each model can be individually wrapped.

Pony pouches. These are awesome! All you have to do is stick your model in and tighten the string. Very fast and each model can have its own special bag. I also use these for my models.

What Order?

When it’s time to pack your models, try to organize them by putting the models that are used last in the bottom of your travel case, and putting the ones that are used first at the top. It’s always good to be prepared for being late. I also pack the night before. 
Do you have any other questions about packing models? Wasn’t sure what else to add…..